This section contains various bits of trivia regarding the series including how Happy Days
got started, information on Fonzie's leather jacket, whatever happened to Chuck Cunningham,
spinoff information, theme song details, how the show did in the ratings, and other
interesting nuggets of information on the show and cast members. If anyone has any additional information and/or corrections, please
e-mail
Happy Days was one of ABC's longest running sitcom airing from January 15, 1974 to July 12, 1984.
255 episodes were made during the shows 11 seasons (Paramount and ABC thought the show would go off the air after
13 weeks and initially didn't pour any money into it).
The beginning of Happy Days
Happy Days began as a pilot in 1971 called "New Family in Town," which was produced by Garry Marshall for ABC.
The pilot contained some of the same characters (Richie, Howard, Marion, and Potsie)
and some of the same actors (Ron Howard, Marion Ross, and Anson Williams). Mr. Cunningham was
played by actor Harold Gould.
ABC decided not to turn the pilot of "New Family in Town" into a series,
but used it as a segment/playlet of "Love, American Style" in 1972, entitled "Love and
the Happy Days." Ron Howard and Anson Williams appeared in the skit. There was
an even earlier attempt at a pilot episode with Dennis Weaver and Ron Howard. This was
later redone as part of the regular Happy Days series episode where Richie came home drunk after
going to a strip club. Marion Ross also had a scene. This was not a full Love, American Style episode,
just a partial episode.
After the success of the George Lucas' 1972 hit film, "American Graffiti" (starring
Ron Howard), the ABC programmers were looking to cash in on the wave of 1950s nostalgia (although
the film is actually set in September 1962).
ABC, remembering Garry Marshall's earlier pilot, called him and
asked him to make some changes to his original concept. Among the changes
was to include the character of Arthur Fonzarelli. ABC wanted to toughen
up the show by having a gang of thugs beat up Richie Cunningham. Marshall
agreed, but the character became a benevolent companion to Richie and his pals.
The cast members were notified on Thanksgiving Day 1973 that ABC was picking
up the show. They had no scripts and had a couple of months to prepare for the
premiere in January of 1974.
ABC was pushing actor Robby Benson for the role of Richie Cunningham. Benson
had no desire to do a TV series, and Marshall and Benson purposely messed up his
screen test and Ron Howard got the role. Howard was always Marshall's
first choice, and Howard agreed to do Happy Days if he could age each year on the
show (high school, college, etc.)
The city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin was chosen as the location in which
Happy Days was set. Tom Miller, one of the producers, grew up in Milwaukee.
In addition, Milwaukee gave the show a midwest flavor that they thought
would appeal to a broad-based audience. One additional reason for the selection of
Milwaukee, was that if they ever needed to do a location shoot, Garry Marshall wanted
it in a place that not only one of his producers knew, but wouldn't charge him, Paramount,
and ABC a overwhelming amount.
Fonzie's windbreaker/leather jacket
During the mid-season of the first season (1974), Garry Marshall went to Hawaii
for a week to shoot the pilot for another series called Little People starring Brian Keith.
While he was gone, Fonzie was wearing a windbreaker with little penny loafers instead
of his patented leather jacket and motorcycle boots. Somebody at ABC had decided
that a hoodlum was an inappropriate character for the eight o'clock
time slot. Marshall was able to convince ABC that Fonzie couldn't possibly ride his
motorcycle in flimsy shoes (motorcycle safety) and the audience would worry about him getting cold in the thin
windbreaker that he was wearing. The network eventually agreed and said that Fonzie
could wear the leather jacket only when he was with the motorcycle. The bike never
left the Fonz's side during the first season, even for indoor scenes. Finally, ABC decided
to let Fonzie wear his leather jacket during all scenes in the later seasons.
The character of Arthur Fonzarelli was so immensely popular, there was talk of
changing the title to "Fonzie's Happy Days." Henry Winkler was receiving as much
as 55,000 fan letters per week during the shows run.
In 1980, the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. put one
of the Fonz's leather jackets on display.
Click here to see a picture of The Fonz's leather jacket on display at the Smithsonian.
The first leather jacket was stolen after the first year on Happy Days.
They then had a new one made...they had one made when he waterskiied (in the Hollywood episodes) without
a lining; and a backup. But the main one, he presented to the Smithsonian Institution in 1980
so they had to make another jacket for the next three seasons.
Whatever happened to Chuck Cunningham (Richie's older brother)?
At the beginning of the first season, an actor named Gavan O'Herlihy was hired
to play Chuck Cunningham. After a few episodes, he went into Garry Marshall's office
and told him he didn't really want to be an actor and was moving to Ireland to become
a poet. They recast the part with an actor named Randolph Roberts for the next
season for a short time. The writers, producers, and Marshall soon
realized Richie didn't need an older brother because Fonzie was, in a way,
his older brother. They never mentioned what happened to him, and many viewers
wrote them letters. The producers just left him out of the story and hoped that everyone would
just forget about him.
There were two constants about Chuck. He was dumb and he was always eating a sandwich or holding/dribbling a basketball.
In his autobiography, Garry Marshall says whenever anyone asked him about Chuck and where
he disappeared to, he would say Chuck got a 12-year basketball scholarship to
the University of Outer Mongolia.
Spinoffs
There were four spinoffs of Happy Days and a Saturday morning animated version.
Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) first appeared in a
1975 Happy Days episode. In 1976, they were given their own show. Laverne & Shirley
aired on ABC from January 27, 1976 until May 10, 1983 (178 episodes). Happy Days characters
appeared on the show including Fonzie, Richie, and Al Delvecchio.
Robin Williams' space alien character, Mork from Ork, first appeared in Happy Days
on February 27, 1978. He would also reappear in the March 5, 1979 episode, "Mork Returns".
The character of Mork was very popular (by both the audience and Happy Days cast members),
and by the fall of 1978, Williams was starring in the sitcom "Mork and Mindy". Mork and Mindy
would air on ABC from September 14, 1978 until June 10, 1982 (95 episodes).
Erin Moran and Scott Baio would leave Happy Days in March of 1982 to star
in their own sitcom, "Joanie Loves Chachi". It aired from March 23, 1982 until
September 13, 1983 on ABC. The plot had Chachi and Joanie moving to
Chicago to live with Chachi's mother, Louisa, to try and
start a singing career. The show never really caught on and most of the cast
members would return to Milwaukee for Happy Days final season.
One of the anniversary specials served as the pilot for one
of Garry Marshall's other shows, Blanksky's Beauties. Nancy Walker appeared in the anniversary
special as a cousin of Howard Cunningham. Blansky's Beauties ran from February 12, 1977 to May 21, 1977.
Lynda Goodfriend, Scott Baio, and Eddie Mekka all starred. On a related note, Lynda Goodfriend
and Scott Baio starred in another Garry Marshall sitcom called Who's Watching the Kids which ran from
September 22, 1978 to December 15, 1978.
In episode #144 (Chachi Sells His Soul), Chachi makes a pact with the bedeviled
Melvin Scratch to transform into a debonair older guy. Random (played by actor Jimmy
Brogan) attempts to help him. Random (Jimmy Brogan) later starred in a sitcom
called "Out of the Blue" which ran for a very short time (9/9-12/16) in 1979 on ABC. This
episode is a crossover episode and not a spinoff of Happy Days as I had previously
mentioned. Out of the Blue had actually aired its first or second episode by the time
that the crossover episode with "Happy Days" first aired. This is confirmed by the airdate
of the Happy Days episode which was on September 18, 1979. Jimmy Brogan is one of the
frequently seen writers now on "The Tonight Show."
A Saturday morning animated version called The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
aired from November 1980 - November 1981. See the The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang section for further details.
Happy Days theme songs
The original theme song for the series was Bill Haley's famous 1955 hit record
"Rock Around the Clock" which would promptly become a best-seller all over again in
1974 as a result of being on Happy Days.
A second original composition, "Happy Days" by Pratt & McLain would follow
as the theme song. It reached the hit parade in 1976 at #5.
The mystery singer on lead vocals for the "Happy Days" theme is Hollywood session singer Ron Hicklin. Hicklin is
well known to fans of "The Partridge Family" as one of the professional studio voices who sang background vocals on their records.
The final season theme song was sung by Bobby Avron.
Ratings
Happy Days was a top 20 series for eight of its 11 seasons.
Happy Days was the number one rated show in America during the 1976-77 season
with a 31.5 rating. Laverne & Shirley would finish second with a 30.9 rating.
Happy Days would appear in the top 20 several other seasons during the
shows run. It finished #16 with a 21.5 during the 1974 (first season).
During the 1975-76 season, it finished 11th with a 23.9 rating. Following the #1
rated season of 1976-77, it finished 2nd in 1977-78 with a 31.4 rating.
A year later, Happy Days finished tied for 3rd with a 28.6 rating with Mork
and Mindy behind Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company. It finished
the 1979-80 season at #17 with a 21.7 rating. For the 1980-81 season,
it was #15 with a 20.8 rating. 1981-1982 found Happy Days at #18 with a
20.6 rating. During the 1982-83 season, it finished #28 with a 17.4 rating.
If anyone can fill me on the missing years, please contact me.
ABC aired reruns of Happy Days on its daytime lineup from September 1975 to
March 1979.
When Happy Days began airing in syndication while it was still making first-run episodes,
the title screen was changed to "Happy Days Again" so viewers wouldn't think they were getting original episodes.
If you check some episodes of later seasons Happy Days episodes, you may notice the different opening title screen.
black and white photo of the "Happy Days Again" logo
Happy Days cast members become directors
Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams, Donny Most, and Scott Baio
all would do some directing after Happy Days. Ron Howard had always
wanted to be a director according to Tom Bosley and Marion Ross since a young age. Happy Days
creator Garry Marshall and producers Tom Miller and Eddie Milkis
would often teach their young cast members about other aspects of the
business, which included directing during breaks of shooting scenes for Happy Days.
Cast members singing careers
Anson Williams song, "Deeply", peaked at #93 on the Billboards singles charts in April of 1977. "Deeply" is apparently available on a Rhino Record compilation called "Teen Idols of the '70s".
Donny Most hit #97 with the song "All Roads (Lead Back To You)".
Scott Baio released 2 albums in the early '80s. One is self titled and the other one is called "Boys Night Out".
Where did the character's names come from?
Richie Cunningham was the name of a nice boy who went to Garry Marshall's church as a child.
Potsie Weber was a boy who Marshall's wife went to school with as a child.
The first home that Garry and his wife bought in Los Angeles was on Arcola Street.
In the Bronx neighborhood that Marshall grew up in, "Chachi" was an Italian nickname short for Charles.
Garry Marshall's family car once broke down in Atascadero, California and thats how Pinky Tuscadero was named.
Garry Marshall grew up in the Bronx, and there was a place like Arnold's but it had a different name. There was
a guy named Lefty, who wore a leather jacket, and may have been the inspiration for the Fonzie character.
Garry Marshall's relatives in Happy Days
A number of his relatives appeared in Happy Days including his mom, two sisters (one was Penny Marshall as Laverne), his son,
two daughters, and a couple of nieces. Marshall, himself, always played the drums in the show whenever he could.
Happy Days all-star softball team
The Happy Days softball team included many cast members, writers, and other people
relating to the show. Many other actors/actresses would play on their team
including Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Tony Danza, Penny Marshall, and Rob Reiner.
They would play across the US in major league ballparks before MLBB
games. They also would make a trip to Germany and a trip to Okinawa for the
troops. Henry Winkler was reportedly a great pitcher for the team.
Visit my page on the softball team for
much more information and pictures
Happy Days cast visits Milwaukee in 1983
In 1983, the Happy Days cast visited the real-life city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Some 150,000 residents of the city (many more than was expected) lined the streets for the
parade to welcome them "home". Mr. Cunningham (Tom Bosley) got the key to the city and
the Fonz said "Aaayyh."
There are so many connections it is almost eerie. A few of the similarities:
1. Scott Baio is named Charles (Chachi is a nickname for him in Happy Days) in both shows.
2. Scott Baio's mother in both series is played by Ellen Travolta (John Travolta's sister).
3. His father had passed away in both shows.
4. Chachi's step-father Al owned a restaurant (in both Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi). Charles' mother owns a
restaurant with a 50's theme in Charles in Charge.
5. Joanie is a teacher in Happy Days, Charles is a teacher in Charles in Charge.
6. Donny Most once appeared in a Charles in Charge episode and buys a lottery ticket and then says "happy days are
here again" after we wins. Baio grins and says "Happy Days got canceled."
7. In a Charles in Charge episode, Chachi's cousin wants to be like Chachi on Happy Days and Chachi tells him that
Chachi was a dork.
the Married with Children/Happy Days connection
A few of the similarities:
1. Ted McGinley plays Jefferson D'Arcy, the name of the high school on Happy Days was Jefferson High.
2. In the episode of Married...with Children (#193, Dud Bowl) Polk High plays football
against rough, cheating Patton High, the school in which McGinley's Happy Days character becomes the principal of during
the later seasons.
3. Ron Leavitt also wrote some episodes of each show.
4. There is an episode where they are all at a museum and there are kids hanging all over
Jefferson, and he yells, "Will you kids get away from me?! I am NOT the guy from Happy Days!"
the use of the word 'Pfister' on Happy Days
The name Pfister was used many times on Happy Days:
When Howard's father comes to visit, Howard made a comment that Sean could live in the
Pfister Retirement Home.
Two characters during the 1982-1983 season were Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley Pfister
and her daughter Heather Pfister.
In the Fonzie Loves Pinky episodes, the name Pfister is used several times including:
Pfister National Park, Pfister's Emporium is mentioned, and even Pinky is taken
to Pfister Hospital! Talk about Pfsiter madness!
I recently asked fans for their impressions on the 'Pfister' which appears
time and time again in both L&S and Happy Days. And this is what one fan sent
me:
There is an old building in Milwaukee, maybe built around the turn of the
century or so, on the side of the building, painted in very large letters, and
half peeled away because it was so old was the name of the company -
'Pfister & Vogel'. Pfister must have been a very influential name in Milwaukee
at one time - maybe it still is, I don't know.
Maybe Mr. Pfister was a turn of the century business tycoon in Milwaukee and so
they named everything after him. So I would think that maybe Pfister is the
name of an old prominent family in Milwaukee and maybe a lot of the things in
the city are named after him and his family, evidentally, Pfister is a REAL
name that is associated with Milwaukee.
Can any fans who live in Milwaukee tell me if there is many place names called
after this man? Or can any Milwaukee fans shed more light on this man?
So far it is the best explanation as to the history of the name in the show.
Greg Malsack has provided the following information on the name 'Pfister':
The building that has the name "Pfister & Vogel" is located where Water Street
and Brady Street meet. It is an old tannery building that Was at one time one
of the largest corps in Milwaukee. Mr. Pfister was a partner in the business
with Mr. Vogel. I do not know if that Mr. Pfister is connected to the Pfister
Hotel down town. What I can tell you is that the Pfister Hotel is now owned by
the same corp that owns the Hilton, which are owned by the Marcus corp.
Here is a list of references compiled so far from L&S, if you
have spotted more ones not listed here, drop me a mail and i'll credit you on
the site.
'Laverne & Shirley'
#32 - At the beginning a guy knocks on the girls door and when they let him
in he says he's from "The Pfister Mortuary and Funeral Parlor'.
#33 - Shirley wins a free honeymoon at 'The Hotel Pfister'.
#37 - 'Charles Pfister Crane' tries to turn the girls into a singing
duo called The Rosebuds.
#46 - Fabian performed at 'The Pfister Arena'.
#59 - Laverne and Lenny attend a Polish Debutante Ball at 'The Hotel Pfister'.
#60 - Carmine applies for a loan at 'Pfister Savings and Loan', to try to get
the money so he can open his own dance studio.
#74 - Squiggy mentions his favourite mouthwash, 'Pfisterene Mouthwash'.
#77 - The girls buy a statue of a guy from the 'Pfister Plaster Palace'.
#93 - Shirley tells Frank that he should take Edna to someplace romantic
like 'Cafe Le Pfister' to propose to her.
#107 - Carmine talks about the time he took the girls to the 'Chez Pfister'
restaurant.
#111 - Shirley tries to get Laverne to eat at a restaurant all by herself,
and they go to 'Pfister Fong's'.
Other miscellaneous Happy Days information
Entertainment Weekly ranks the final Happy Days episode 8th on their Top 10 list
of TV's "Big Finishes: The Best Closers and Cliff-Hangers of All Time."
Scott Baio and Erin Moran dated on and off again during the shows run.
Happy Days was filmed on Stage 19 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.
The first 39 episodes were shot with a single camera and without a studio audience.
The character of Joanie Cunningham was played by another actress for a day before Erin
Moran got the part.
Henry Winkler and Marion Ross always had a good friendship on and off the screen. In fact, Winkler still
occasionally sends Ross flowers.
The house that was used for the exterior shots of the Cunninghams' home is located near Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The address is 565 N. Cahuenga Boulevard. This private
house is located on a quiet side street. The midwestern style architecture stands out in this
southern California neighborhood. Click here to visit the International Happy Days Fan Club page and see a picture of the Cunningham house.
The pinball machine that featured on Happy Days was a NIP-IT 1972 model.
There is a Fonzie statue with his motorcycle in the Hollywood Wax Museum.
In Italy, Happy Days receives higher ratings than other US shows such as Baywatch, Friends, Beverly Hills 90210, and Star Trek.
Tom Bosley and Marion Ross appeared once as a couple on The Love Boat and there was mini reunion in a 1985 Love Boat episode.
Crystal Bernard appeared in episode #210 "Tell Tale Tart" as the new girl in school, before she would get the role of K.C. Cunningham during the 1982-1983 season.
Anson Williams was married to Lorrie Mahaffey (they are now divorced) who played his girlfriend in the pinning episode and also a few other episodes.
The highest production-run pinball machine of the 70's and 80's was Bally's "Eight-Ball". The machine features a backglass with Fonzie leaning across a pool table to make a shot. And the girl on the backglass with him is indeed the likeness of Pinky Tuscadero, his girlfriend at the time the machine was designed.
For the 1975-1976 season opener, Fonzie moves into the apartment above the Cunnigham's garage. It was Fred Silverman's idea to expand the role of Fonzie at that time thinking that it would help the show's mediocre rating. Happy Days would finish in 10th place
for the 1975-76 season, before becoming the #1 show in America during the 1976-77 season.
There was a mini-reunion show on the September 18, 1996 USA Live! show. Tom Bosley, Marion
Ross, Pat Morita, Erin Moran, and Cathy Silvers appeared. They also appeared on the
Rosie O'Donnell Show and Fox After Breakfast the same week.
In the mid-late 1970's, there was a tv special called "The Fonz Meets Shakespeare". In the show, a very prim and proper guy tries to teach the Fonz about the Shakespearean language. This special is apparently available, but I have never seen it. If anyone has a copy or more information on this show, please e-mail me.
Roz Kelly was billed as Fonzie's girlfriend (Pinky Tuscadero) during the fall previews for the 1976-77 season. They didn't say Fonzie's temporary girl. They implied in the show
previews over the summer that she was a new cast member. She would be a regular. Apparently, she didn't get along with the other cast members especially well and she did imitations of Fonzie and nobody could stand her.
Sticks Downey, the African-American drummer and friend of Fonzie, was also billed as a new cast member during the fall previews. However, he only appeared in a handful of episodes that season.
The Fonz's last name was originally going to be "Marscharelli" - Garry Marshall's real last name. Garry Marshall wanted to name him after himself, but he and partner Bob Brunner found that it did not fit the character.
The Fonz's leather jacket at the Smithsonian is next to Mr. Rogers rocking chair.
The last episode of Happy Days was taped on November 11th, 1983. At the end of taping, they had a cake that said 11th day, 11th month, and 11th season. At the time, it had not "officially" been cancelled, but it was referred to as "most likely the final episode of Happy Days".
Michael J. Fox auditioned for the part of Flip Phillips in 1982 along with Billy Warlock who eventually got the role. Billy said it was him, this other kid named Eric, and Michael J. Fox. Warlock won the role (which lasted one season) while later that year, poor Michael won himself a role of his own on Family Ties which lasted for seven seasons and turned him into a huge star. Warlock with a laugh said if Michael had gotten "Happy Days" and I landed on "Family Ties"...who knows where we would both be right now!
Billy Warlock, who was Flip Phillips in 1982, was a stuntman for Robin Williams in an episode of "Mork & Mindy".
At the pinnacle of his Happy Days super stardom, Henry Winkle took a relatively modest weekly salary in exchange for a hefty percentage of the show's syndication profits, which made the Fonz a multi-millionaire. Aaaay!
Linda Purl appeared in 6 episodes (although I can only identify 4 from the credits, I have read 6) as Gloria (Richie's girlfriend) in 1974-75 and then was Fonzie's girlfriend (Ashley Pfister) during the 1982-1983 season.
Henry Winkler was offered the lead role of Danny in Grease (which John Travolta got), but turned
it down with one of the reasons being that he did not want to be typecast as a greaser. He also
admits to being tone deaf. His children still haven't forgiven him,. as he puts it.
The word "nerd" wasn't used as it is has come to mean today until the
mid-1970s by the writers of Happy Days as an epithet to be used by Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli.
Dr. Seuss actually invented the word "nerd" in the book "If I Ran the Zoo" (1950), but the
word got it's current meaning from Happy Days. Update: The word was used before
Happy Days, but it didn't have common usage and become popular until it was on the show.
The Cunningham kitchen was used in "Mommie Dearest" when "Joan" was taking
over "Christina's" role in the soap opera.
The counter dividing the kitchen and living room on Happy Days was according
to one web page visitor used on quite a few Paramount and Desilu series including
I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Odd Couple before coming to Happy Days.
An average taping of Happy Days had an audience of 300 people.
According to a Henry Winkler on Jay Leno, the thumbs up gesture was from
the old 'gladiator' days. The thumbs up meant "kill him" and the thumbs down meant
"let him live". Somewhere over the course of time, the sign was switched.
When Garry Marshall, the producer and creator of Happy Days, saw the movie
Bugsy Malone when it came out in 1976, Scott Baio attracted his attention, and decided
he just had to have him cast as Fonzie's smooth-talking lil' cousin, Chachi Arcola.
After the episode where The Fonz goes to get a library card with Richie to pick up chicks,
the national rate of new library cards went up 500% the next week.
One of the song writers for Happy Days (and Joanie Loves Chachi) was a former
member of the rock band, KISS. His real name is Vincent Cusano and his KISS name is
Vinnie Vincent.
Happy Days Reunion Show
On March 3, 1992 ABC aired the reunion show. This clips-filled retrospective mines
memories from cast members Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley, Anson Williams, Donny
Most, Scott Baio, Al Molinaro, Pat Morita, and creator Garry Marshall. It also recalls the arrival of Laverne and Shirley (Penny Marshall, Cindy
Williams) in 1975; and the 1978 landing of Robin Williams as the zany extraterrestrial Mork. (90 minutes) (description
from TV Guide). The show was hosted by Henry Winkler. Erin Moran did not appear for personal reasons.
Besides clips from the shows, it also included some neat footage of Fonzie's leather jacket
on display at the Smithsonian, the 1983 parade in Milwaukee, the softball team, and some
funny bloopers from the shows.
Happy Days today/pop culture references
Happy Days can still be seen in syndication in 126 countries.
Nick-at-Nite's inaugural week-long "Happy Days Top 40 Marathon" (fall of 1996)
was the highest-rated programming in the history of Nick-at-Nite at the time it aired.
Nick-at-Nite's TV Land cable network kicked off its programming
with an episode of "Love, American Style" that featured the original
pilot for Happy Days.
None of the cast members are being paid for the reruns of Happy Days on Nick-at-Nite.
Tom Bosley and Marion Ross (Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham) appeared in the summer of 1998
in commercials promoting the NBC show, Mad About You. They appeared along
with other parents such as Barbara Billingsley (from Leave It To Beaver), Florence Henderson
(The Brady Bunch), and George and Louise Jefferson (from The Jeffersons) to offer advice
to Paul and Jamie Buckman on being new parents. In the Bosley/Ross commercial,
they talk about financing a good education with a good catch phrase.
Happy Days creator Garry Marshall has his autobiography now available. It is called Wake Me When It's Funny.
I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it is probably a very interesting book. (picture of the cover of the book)
In the fall of 1996, Nick-at-Nite released two compact discs that featured music
that was in episodes of Happy Days. A third CD was released in September of 1997.(click here for more information on the CDs)
Episode #45 (Richie Fights Back) was named the 88th Greatest Episode of All Time by TV Guide in their June 28th-July 4th special collectors' issue (100 Greatest Episodes of All Time).
Chachinated episodes (those with Chachi) got 64% of the votes to 36% for the DeChachinated episodes during the Happy Days marathon in September of 1997 on Nick-at-Nite.
Potsie and Ralph at Arnold's were mentioned in an episode of The Nanny when Fran said she had to go to
Arnold's as an excuse.
Episode #45 (Richie Fights Back) was #24 (2nd on the countdown) in Nick-at-Nite's December '97 Classic TV Countdown. Episode #3 (Richie's Cup Runneth Over) finished #5.
Garry Marshall is toying with the idea of bringing Arthur Fonzarelli back to the little screen as an adult in "Fonzie Forever", with Henry Winkler.
There was a Happy Days reference in a episode of Seinfeld (The Doodle):
George and Elaine were talking about a friend of Elaine's, and George wants
to know if she likes him.
George: What did she say about me?
Elaine: She say she likes you.
George: Does she "like" like me?
At this point, Jerry becomes disgruntled and says to Elaine,
"Well, if you and Potsie are done now, I'd like to leave."
There have been many references to Happy Days on
The Simpsons. One of the better ones is when Homer and Marge are going to
their high school reunion.
Homer: It'll be great to see the old gang again. Potsie, Ralph Malph, the Fonz.
Marge: That wasn't you, that was "Happy Days"!
Homer: No, they weren't all happy days. Like the time Pinky Tuscadero
crashed her motorcycle, or the night I lost all my money to those card
sharks and my dad Tom Bosley had to get it back.
After that exchange, they cut to the exterior scene of Springfield High School,
where a banner reads "Class of 1974: Aaaay....Sit on it."
In another "The Simpsons" episode ("The Otto Show"): Otto, an unemployed bus driver, was temporarily
living with "The Simpsons". Homer, got sick of Otto, and complained to Marge about it:
Homer: I want him out of my house!!!
Marge: Oh, now Homer, Otto has no other---
Homer: I don't care, this is not "Happy Days", and he is not the Fonz!!!
(At which point, Otto enters the scene and says: "Heeeey, Mr. S!!")
In another "The Simpsons" episode - a flashback episode, Homer is "reading" to
Maggie when she was a baby. He is reading the TV Guide. "8 o'clock. Happy Days. The Fonz (Henry Winkler)
is afraid he's losing his cool."
In yet another "The Simpsons" episode - when Poochie the dog is added to the
Itchy & Scratchy Show as a new character, he does a little rap number as his debut.
One of the lyrics goes "I'm a half Joe Camel and a third Fonzarelli."
This one just in from a web page visitor:
Homer: Fonzie's jacket!!!!!
Bart: Who's Fonzie?
Homer: WHO'S FONZIE?? Don't they teach you anything in school? He freed
the squares!
Several years ago on "Sesame Street", there was a funny
clip of Ron Howard as Richie and Henry Winkler as the Fonz counting to ten.
There were also apparently other clips featuring them, including one where they said all the letters the cool
Fonz was starting with, "Aaaay...".
In the movie Pulp Fiction, there is a Fonzie reference in the
"restaurant robbery scene". In the scene, a couple of people are robbing a restaurant (Tim Roth
and someone else). However, they also try to rob Samuel L. Jackson's characters' briefcase.
In a tense scene where two people are held at gunpoint, Samuel L. Jackson's character
tells Tim Roth's girlfriend that "we're all going to be like little Fonzie", "What's Fonzie like?", "Cool" is
the reply. No one gets shot in that scene.
The Brotherhood's (a UK hip hop crew) debut album "Elementals" apparently
has a reference to Fonzie in one of their songs.
They mentioned Fonzie in an episode of "Step By Step". It was the one
where JT and Dana work in a 50's restaurant. Al Molinaro (Al Delvecchio) was in it, and he did
his Fonzie imitation.
On a 1998 episode of Dawson's Creek, they talked about Happy Days for
a couple of minutes. Pacey said Dawson was like Richie, Jen's ex was the Fonz, and Dawson said
Pacey was Potsie. On another Dawson's Creek episode, Joey is talking to Dawson. She is sure he is going to try to
scare her for Friday the 13th, but he keeps denying it, she says: "Don't give me that 'Who? Me? I'm
Richie Cunnigham act."
There is a player on the New York Mets baseball team named Edgardo Alfonzo.
His nickname on the team and with the media is "Fonzie". When the Mets are
playing at home, the "Happy DAys" theme song is sometimes played over the loudspeaker
whenever Alfonzo gets a pivotal hit.
There are two Happy Days references on one of Will Smith's recent CD, "Big Willie
Style". In the song titled "It's All Good", Smith is talking about great his life is, hence the
lyrics, "The Fonz ain't seen my happy days...". The other song (song title unknown), in the very
beginning, refers to good things that go together, and the rapper mentions Joanie and Chachi.
In the 1998 movie, "The Wedding Singer" (with Adam Sandler and Drew
Barrymore), there are several references to The Fonz. In a Adam Sandler song called "The Hannukah" song there
is a menton of Arthur Fonzarelli.
In the movie "Austin Powers" with Elizabeth Hurley, Mike Myers
introduces himself as Richie Cunningham, with his wife Oprah.
There was a Boy Meets World episode where Tom Bosley and Anson Williams made
guest appearances. It is the episode where Cory (Ben Savage) went back in time to the fifties. He went back to his house (which wasn't his).
Eric screams "Dad" and Tom Bosley walked down the stairs and then someone came to the door. Cory
answered it and said "Who are you?" The person says "I'm Anson Williams." Some other stuff
was said and then he said "Wait, I don't have any parents or a house. I was always over at other people's houses." Cory then went to Chubbies
(the hangout) with Shawnzie Hunterreli (modeled after Fonzie). They talked to "The Wise One" which
was Pat Morita. He said some smart stuff to them, took off his robe (there was an apron on
under it) and said "I have customers to get to."
In the movie, "Vice Versa", the kid (Fred Savage) and his dad
get switched...their personalities. When Savage (as the adult) is going to school the adult (Judge
Reinhold as the kid) says, "There's a few things you outta know about school, dad... it ain't
like Happy Days anymore!"
In the movie, "The Cable Guy" (with Jim Carey and Matthew Broderick), Jim Carey's
character says he is the long lost Chuck Cunningham.
In the tv series "NewsRadio", somebody ws talking about one of his nephews. Somebody
else said, "He's not one of your weird nephew, is he?" To which the first guy responded, "No,
he's normal. He's so normal that he makes Richie Cunningham look like a crack-smoking
porno freak."
There was an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air where Will and Carlto go away skiing
and Will is into the gala and Carlton wants to see Henry Winkler interviewed on a Barbara Walters special.
Then when they crash the car and can't get back to the convention, Carlton cries out to Will "YOU MADE ME MISS FONZIE!"
The girl Nicki of the pop band ALL SAINTS has the nickname The Fonz.
There is a kicker for the Dallas Cowboys whose real name is Richie Cunningham and
a defensive player on the Miami Dolphins named Ross Marion (switched around Marion Ross).
Former Spice Girl, Geri Halliwell is a big fan of Fonzie.
There is a song by Smashmouth that is entitled, "The Fonz." This is on their
album Fush yu Mang.
In the controversial cartoon South Park, they had an episode that had a flashback
show where the kids were sitting around talking and things they supposedly did, and one
of the things was attend the scene where Fonzie was jumping over the garbage cans (from
the famous Fearless Fonzarelli episodes) with his bike, and
instead of landing on the fried chicken stand, he landed on a fence and knocked a kid
into the fence. Well, the kid (Kenny of course) was splattered against the fence.
Inn another South Park episode, one of the kids is abducted by aliens, and when
he came back, he said something about Scott Baio giving him pink eye.
There was a fall 1998 Friends episode (called The One Hundredth) that
had numerous references to Happy Days. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has her
triplets and her doctor is a big Happy Days fan and keeps making references
to Fonzie throughout the show. Later, Rachel makes a remark of how much
she liked Mork and the doctor frightenly defends Fonzie by saying that Mork
froze Fonzie.
There was another Friends episode where the gang was telling each other which character
they fantasized they were when they were kids (Monica was Joanie, Joe was Potsie, etc.) and
one time Jennifer Aniston loved "Joanie Loves Chachi" and was heartbroken when it was canceled.
In the very first episode of Friends, Rachel, who walked out on her own wedding, is
watching the final episode of Happy Days where Joanie and Chachi are getting married. She says something, "But see, Joanie
Loves Chachi. That's the difference."
The 3rd season finale of Friends finds the whole gang in a beach house, playing
the Happy Days board game to pass time. Whoever has the least amount of "cool"
points has to lose a piece of clothing.
On an old episode of Saturday Night Live, they had a cartoon with an animated Jesus Christ
who was wandering the streets on Christmas (all a comedy) and was hearing people say
things like "Oh God! And Jesus Christ!". JC was mad because he thought he should
have been copyrighted for his name. That way he would have been a billionaire. As Jesus
walks past an electronics store, you know where they always play TV's through the window,
and a Happy Days episode was playing.
In the 1998 TNT movie, CHiPs '99, Garry Marshall played a tour bus driver for a bunch
of Russian tourists. The driver (Marshall) points out Henry Winkler's mansion to the
people taking the tour. When the Russians look at his confused, he tries
to say "Ayyyyy, the Fonz was in Russia!" They still look confused, so he says that
"Winkler sold it to Pat Sajak." This makes the Russians very excited.
In an episode of The Flintstones (the more recent one, not from the 1960's), there
is a reference to Happy Days. Fred Flintstone buys a hamburger from Al's Brontosaurus
Burgers and the owner is Al and the character is very similar to Al Molinaro/Al Delvecchio.
In an episode of 3rd Rock From the Sun, there is a Happy Days reference. Dick is
complaining about the lack of enthusiasm from his students and gets an idea.
Dick: They want something new and exciting, they want the Fonz!
Harry: Aaayyy (with his thumbs up)
On a Mad About You episode, Henry Winkler was mentioned. Paul and Jamie were
at the bank trying to get a loan. Then Paul saw on their credit report that Jamie
didn't pay a loan that a college gave her. Paul said: "Well, someone didn't
pay a loan..." Jamie: "Who?" Paul: "Who? Who? Henry Winkler thats who."
There a new Happy Days musical that has been playing in the UK and which
will soon be moving to Australia. Henry Winkler is the creative consultant.
In the movie "Can't Hardly Wait", Jenna Elfman's character recalls her adolescent
fascination with Scott Baio and how she screwed up a chance meeting with him.
Angel (Jenna Elfman's character): You know what, this is just like that Scott Baio thing. When
I was 16, I had the biggest thing for Scott Baio.
Preston (Ethan Embry): Look, you don't have to sit here and go through...Scott Baio?!?
Angel: I said I was 16! I mean, this went back to the "Happy Days" years, not to
mention "Joanie Loves Chachi." God I hated her! You know, Joanie!
On The Beastie Boys 1989 album "Paul's Boutique" - there is a track called
"Hey Ladies" - and a line from that song goes: "I'm not James at 15 or Chachi in Charge".
On an episode of Futurama, the guy was having problems with the television set and
hit it. The picture came back on, and he gave a "thumbs up" and an "Ayyyy".
On an episode of Boy Meets World, Cory and Shawn went to another school's party and
everyone thought that Cory was Shawn so he was getting a lot of attention. Shawn was
telling Cory to act like him and so Cory went to a group of girls, put 2 thumbs up
and says "Aaaaaayy". Shawn grabs him and says "Cory that's not me, that's Fonzie". It
was one of the earlier episodes when Cory and Topanga broke up for the first time.
On a recent episode of "Family Guy" they made fun of Happy Days. It
showed Howard, Richie, Marion, and Joanie sitting at their dinner table
and Rich looked up and said Mom, I really like Potsie. They said they
knew that. Richie went on to say no, I really, really like Potsie.
Marion asked if it was a homosexual thing. The father went on a "spiritual quest"' and the Fonz appeared to him
and said that Mr C was like a father to him, and he always listened. He went
on to say that the father's son needed him to listen, and a lesson was
learned. Later on when Peter saw Fonzie as his personal guide and he asked "I always wondered...you were with
a lot of girls. Did you ever get any sexually transmitted diseases?" Fonzie
answered "Herpies twice, and the clap. Aaaaayyyy!".
Click here to visit the International Happy Days Fan Club page and see a picture of the Cunningham house.
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